Monday, August 31, 2009

For some reason not entirely clear to me, Augustine now enters on a long argumentation against suicide (17-27). He starts by discussing the opinion that consecrated virgins maybe should considering taking their lives rather than getting raped (this appearently happened during the Sack of Rome).

In chapter 19 he refers to the Roman legend about Lucretia, who after being raped took her life. This legend is one of the legends that was thought to all children in the Roman Empire, and Lucretias courage and sense of justice was seen as a great example of Roman virtue. So when Augustine criticises her and upholds the Christian idea that suicide is always wrong (unless God commands it, Augustine is not entirely sure about the storis offChristian saints that did the same, 26), he is engaging in a nice little piece of culture criticism, displaying how Christinaity values different virtues from the (pagan) empire.

In that case, therefore, when she slew herself because she had endured the act of an adulterer even though she was not an adulteress herself, she did this not from love of purity, but because of a weakness arising from shame. She was made ashamed by the infamy of another, even though comitted against her without her consent. Being a Roman lady excessively eager for praise, she feared that, if she remained alive, she would be thought to have enjoyed suffering the violence that she had suffered when she lived. ...But this is not what those Christian women did who suffered the same way yet are still alive. They did not avenge another's crime upon themselves; and it was because they feared adding to the crime of others a crime of their own that they did not do so.

But this is not what those Christian women did who suffered the same way yet are still alive. They did not avenge another's crime upon themselves; and it was because they feared adding to the crime of others a crime of their own that they did not do so.

3 comments:

I realize this may sound odd, but there have been times when this idea -- that God opposes suicide -- was a great comfort to me, and helped prevent me from doing anything rash. Opposing suicide also upholds the value of life no matter how little value the world may hold for a life, or how degraded a person may be in the world's eyes they are not so degraded in God's eyes. It was an ever-present reminder that God valued my life no matter what.

The Christian view is that "God will not give one more than they can handle", but if someone commits suicide, then they prove this statement wrong. From this it can be futher suggested that God is a bad father in that he does not take protect the weak (women). The possible reason Christians oppose suicide so strongly is that it either shows God does not exits or is a bad father.